WWF Wrestling Challenge (12.6.1986) Review

-Originally aired December 6, 1986.

-Your hosts are Gorilla Monsoon and Bobby Heenan.

BREAKING NEWS!
-We go to Great Britain, where WWF United Kingdom correspondent Some Guy announces that WWF President Jack Tunney has reinstated Andre the Giant. Andre is all smiles as he announces that he was busy during his time off, but he assures us that he has a “big surprise” in store for the WWF fans.

HILLBILLY JIM, PEDRO MORALES, & TITO SANTANA vs. BARRY O, IRON MIKE SHARPE, & BRIAN COSTELLO
-Iron Mike Sharpe takes his bumps. Barry O tags in and we have a badly bungled clothesline attempt. Gorilla wants to talk about Andre’s reinstatement, but Bobby refuses to acknowledge anything he’s saying and changes the subject. Hillbilly Jim puts Costello away with a bearhug, and it’s such a one-sided asskicking that referee Danny Davis didn’t even bother with any chicanery.

WRESTLER’S REBUTTAL
-King Harley Race is mad because he’s not on the cover of WWF Magazine. What is that even a rebuttal against? Words have meanings.

-Honky Tonk Man is furious that after kissing puke-faced babies and shaking greasy hands, he lost the Vote of Confidence. He vows that from now on, he’s going to slap babies(!) and that next week, he’ll have a big surprise for us.

KAMALA (with Kimchee & The Wizard) vs. JACK FOLEY
-Mel Phillips introduces Foley as weighing in at 147 pounds, and even Gorilla won’t let that slide. Man, Mel Phillips really put a foot in his mouth with that intro, huh? Gorilla does no favors by correcting the weight (253 pounds) but referring to the jobber as “Kurt Hoffman.” I gotta tell you, if the announcers don’t care enough to even get your weight and name right, maybe it’s time to get out of wrestling, Foley.

-Kamala chops Foley down and splashes him, but the big man doesn’t want to end up there and belly flops onto Foley from the top rope to finish it. And Gorilla never stopped calling him “Kurt Hoffman” all the way through. And he leaves on a stretcher.

-Ken Resnick talks to Bobby Heenan about the purchase of Hercules’ contract. Bobby says it’s nobody’s damn business.

-Gene Okerlund chats with a distraught Bonnie Steamboat, who says that not being able to speak with Ricky has made married life very difficult, and they’re dealing with the possibility that he may never be medically cleared to wrestle again. Gene, classy man that he is, made it a point to wear a tuxedo for the Steamboats’ house and asking Bonnie about how injured her husband is.

COWBOY BOB ORTON & MAGNIFICENT MURACO (with Jimmy Hart & Mr. Fuji) vs. MARIO MANCINI & MAX BLUE
-Heels are still wearing the Fraudy Piper entrance costumes. Muraco is not in the best shape of his career, and Gorilla points it out, calling attention Muraco’s “derby” hanging out from his shirt. Not sure where they’re taping this, but it’s definitely Illinois because your referee is That Short Old Referee Who Always Wore a Slightly Different Uniform Than Everyone Else. He’s always a referee when they’re in Illinois. Running powerslam and a piledriver by Muraco, and it’s an easy win.

-Ken Resnick welcomes Billy Jack Haynes, who’s color-coordinated the stylish suit he’s wearing with his big hat. Billy Jack wants to talk about Danny Davis’ questionable officiating. Yeah, Randy Savage is a great athlete, but Haynes feels like his loss was a bit sus.

-Gorilla Monsoon announces that “Blackjack Mulligan is on the wagon!” Turns out he means a literal wagon, and he threatens to run over the competition with it. That’s pretty blatant use of a foreign object, Blackjack.

HART FOUNDATION (with Jimmy Hart) vs. SALVATORE BELLOMO & BOB BOYER
-We’re almost at 1987 and the chyron STILL says “Brett.” Bob Boyer looks like a high school principal who won a “be a wrestler for a day” contest. Anvil heaves him across the ring while the Bulldogs drop in and warn us that Matilda is their secret weapon.

-Decapitator by the Harts, and the Hart Attack finishes.

KOKO B. WARE vs. RICK RENSLOW
-Koko hiptosses Renslow. Renslow fights back with right hand after right hand after right hand, and Danny just stands back and lets Renslow do whatever he wants. Koko fights back and connects with the missile dropkick, and the ghostbuster ends it.

-Gene Okerlund confronts Danny Davis about the controversial Savage/Steamboat match, which Davis had no reason to be present for. Davis is coy about why he even showed up for the match, and he has no regrets about what happened to Steamboat.

BRITISH BULLDOGS & BILLY JACK HAYNES vs. NIKOLAI VOLKOFF, IRON SHEIK, & “The Natural” BUTCH REED (with Slick)
-Matilda chases the heels around and Slick sells it by climbing the turnbuckles, which is how he injured himself for real, and he’s still wearing the cast! That’s a company man right there.

-Sheik misses a boot and Davey Boy suplexes him. Everyone tags and Dynamite screws up a clothesline spot, tripping and falling on his face. Haynes and Reed tag in and they look like they’re teaming up with each other in matching gold tights and boots. Bulldogs take on Volkoff while Gorilla again tries to talk about Andre, and again, Bobby deflects and ignores everything he’s saying.

-Haynes locks the full nelson on Reed. Melee breaks out, Slick bonks Haynes over the head with his cane, and Reed gets the win. Too rushed to go anywhere. I never got why they were absolutely hellbent on having exactly six matches, especially on the B-show where nothing important happens. We could have gone without Kamala or Koko’s squashes and given these guys a little time.

-Ken Resnick talks to Slick and his crew. Slick promises that “the most provocative tandem” in wrestling will recapture the Tag Team Titles. CAMERAMAN ZOOM!

5.0

The final score: review Not So Good

The 411

Fun to see little pieces starting to fall into place for Wrestlemania III, but a blah week overall.